Novel Ag-Cu bimetallic alloy decorated near-infrared responsive three-dimensional rod-like architectures for efficient photocatalytic water purification

  • Yuanyuan Zhang
  • , Lili Wang
  • , Xiaoying Kong
  • , Haiyan Jiang
  • , Fan Zhang
  • , Jinsheng Shi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper, novel silver-copper bimetallic alloy (Ag-Cu) nanoparticles (NPs) decorated β-NaYF4: Yb3+, Tm3+@TiO2 (“@” means TiO2 supported on NaYF4: Yb3+, Tm3+, marked as NYFT) micro-rods were successfully synthesized through a surfactant-assistant sol–gel method and H2 reduction process for the first time. In NYFT@Ag-Cu composite, efficient energy transfer from β-NaYF4: Yb3+, Tm3+ (NYF) to TiO2 and metal NPs was confirmed. Under near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation, Ag-Cu alloy supported NYFT exhibited significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity in comparison with other samples, and water disinfection involving 100% inactivation of bacteria was realized within 8 h. The strengthened photocatalytic activity was assigned to the synergistic effect of up-conversion (UC) material and alloy NPs. Some reasons for the improved photocatalytic activity were systematically investigated and a probable mechanism for NIR-responsive photocatalysis was elucidated.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)29-39
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Colloid and Interface Science
Volume522
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Jul 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • 3D micro-rods
  • Ag-Cu bimetallic alloy
  • NIR-response
  • Photocatalytic water purification

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